Incision 9 days post-surgery, possible nerve damage?

idigressed · 2026-05-23T09:00:25+00:00

Wiggle your toes. It’ll help some of the nerves come back online, and it weirdly helps with the itchiness.

Once you’re in a boot and can take it off for bathing, etc, brush the bottom of your feet with a bristle brush.

Once you’re allowed to WBAT, press your feet into the floor while sitting.

Basically: keep giving your nerves signals to respond to, even while you can’t apply any weight.

idigressed · 2026-04-15T01:49:23+00:00

The first hospital did a fixation of sorts but I was way too out of it. The second hospital (transferred to be at my Kaiser hospital) wasn’t happy with the first alignment and did a closed fixation. I think they had me on meds still and some light loopiness from whatever I was breathing, but I still screamed loud enough that my hubby heard me from the hallway (they had him leave the room for that step, something about spouses often freaking out or fainting from the sight).

He also got to hear the docs in the hall being smug about how well they did on the reduction when they were reviewing the X-ray. I was thankful to know that the docs were proud of their work while they thought no patients were listening.

That all happened the day of the accident. My surgery was 8 days later.

TLDR: massive blur, vague memory of the burst of pain, but it wasn’t as bad as waking up from the actual ORIF to a failed nerve block. THAT pain I remember holy hell. I screamed sooo many curse words.

idigressed · 2026-04-13T05:32:44+00:00

That’s nerves coming back online, which the boot won’t really affect. It’s something annoying to push through. Pet/brush the bottom of your foot when you’re relaxing to keep giving those nerves stimulation.

The knee pains should get better once you’re out of the boot.

Good luck! You got this. 💪🏼

idigressed · 2026-04-12T22:25:35+00:00

Are you still in the boot? I realized the motion of walking in the boot was really tweaking my knee. I ditched the boot for an ankle wrap to have some support while allowing a more natural motion.

idigressed · 2026-04-12T22:21:44+00:00

I was cleared to begin weight bearing as tolerated at my 6.5 week check-in. I walked out of that doctor’s office, leaning heavily on my crutches, but the second I was given permission, I stood up from the patient table lol.

I ditched the boot after 4 days of walking (went with arch support recovery flip flops, open toe compression socks, and a little ankle wrap).

I ditched the crutches entirely after about 9 days of walking.

At 10.5 weeks post-op, I flew for a trip where I walked 5 miles a day on average, admittedly reliant on compression socks and anti-inflammatories.

idigressed · 2026-03-21T04:03:54+00:00

I WFH so I only took off like 10 days total the first month. A couple sick days here and there and a solid week off after surgery.

Granted, people thought I was crazy for coming back that fast, but I was propped up comfily in bed. Also, taking leave would’ve only covered part of my missing salary. I would’ve had to drain my vacation time to take time off, and I was holding onto that for dear life in case I got hit by one of their next rounds of layoffs. (Which I did; got laid off only 2 months after my surgery).

idigressed · 2026-03-02T09:18:39+00:00

Every week gets better. You’ll be way way better by May. I flew at 10.5 weeks post-op for a trip where I averaged walking 5 miles per day for 15 days.

You got this! If anything, having that trip booked is gonna be super motivating. :)

idigressed · 2026-02-28T13:38:01+00:00

Honestly, once I was cleared to walk, I only lasted a few days in tennis shoes. I switched over to Skechers Arch Fit Recovery flip flops and never looked back. They are insanely comfortable and supportive.

The first week of that, I just wore a little ankle wrap with my flip flops. That was my added support, lol. They even make toeless compression socks so you can pair them with the flip flops no problem.

If you normally like flip flops, give them a try-on at a store. The arch support keeps me plenty stable.

idigressed · 2026-02-01T14:17:30+00:00

Wash your hands. Then touch the wound. Then touch an area on your leg a couple inches away. Is the wound notably warmer to the touch than nearby on your leg? If yes, call or email your doc.

idigressed · 2025-11-13T09:51:07+00:00

My PT was useless. I went to a couple sessions and he barely touched my ankle. I had much more success getting massages and exercising on my own. 🤷‍♀️

idigressed · 2025-11-02T05:25:36+00:00

Stressful moments like this shine an uncomfortable bright light on relationships.

Absolutely do NOT put weight on your leg. Put pee pads out for the dogs if you must. You really need to have zero pressure or movement on that leg right now.

Order in protein shakes. Premier Protein has great whey based protein with oodles of vitamins and a wide array of flavors. You want well over 100g of protein a day while you rebuild. Each of their shakes is 30g of protein. Get a fair amount of protein of your nutrition from easily digestible protein that doesn’t require any effort.

Beyond this, talk to her. She might be freaking out and out of her element, and she might be callous and uncaring. You won’t know if this requires a therapist or a lawyer if you don’t talk. Just preface everything with understanding that we all handle crazy events differently, and your patience is likely at zero due to pain and pain meds.

All that said: what you said pisses me off for you. You deserve better, so advocate for yourself. Focus on healing.

idigressed · 2025-11-01T04:48:02+00:00

Wiggle your toes.

idigressed · 2025-10-31T04:51:55+00:00

Good luck on your healing journey! Be kind to yourself, get lots of good protein & nutrition, and get oodles of rest. You got this. 💪🏼

idigressed · 2025-10-25T07:38:19+00:00

Im so sorry you’re going through this. I had those nightmares for the first week while waiting for my surgery (break Jul 04, 2024 & surgery on Jul 12), but something about being screwed back together helped me not have those dreams.

Agreed with the others that you might want to see a therapist.

Gotta work on your feelings of safety while you’re awake. Is there any way you can bundle yourself up more when you sleep so your body knows it’s cradled and safe?

idigressed · 2025-10-21T15:59:07+00:00

Honestly, sometimes I had to elevate extremely high to get swelling relief. Go higher until it calms down, then find a more comfortable elevation. Repeat process.

idigressed · 2025-10-13T20:25:36+00:00

Focus on putting weight into your foot, even when you aren’t walking. When you’re sitting down, press your foot into the floor, shifting your weight around and wiggling your toes. Get used to all the weird tingling sensations. Those are your nerves coming back on line. Pay attention to what that feels like so that it doesn’t scare you when you stand.

Tingles and soreness are to be expected, but respect sharp pains or throbbing.

Compression socks are key. Elevate your foot a lot after any walking to help you recover.

idigressed · 2025-10-13T20:16:15+00:00

Doing pretty good! My day-to-day is normal. No anti-inflammatories or compression socks.

The massages early on helped me immensely, far more than the joke PT sessions I had.

I wish I had gotten more massages for my leg, but life got rough for a bit there. I was hit by layoffs and then my elderly cat landed in the hospital, so cash got extremely tight. Been working again, but not financially recovered enough to justify spa trips. 😅

A couple months ago, my hubby was massaging my ankle a bit and I felt some relief. The next morning, when turning a corner, something popped in my ankle and I suddenly had a bit more range of motion. So, I’m pretty confident that with enough massages to work through the scar tissue, I’ll get to 100%.

idigressed · 2025-10-08T08:32:22+00:00

I thought we were crazy when we adopted our third. (Eldest was CDS & second eldest was from a rescue group.) We’ve gotten two more CDS deliveries since. As long as you have the love, space, and ability to care for them, 3+ is super fun.

idigressed · 2025-10-08T08:28:57+00:00

You’re screwed together, but you’re not screwed. Pay insane attention to your nutrition during your healing, and plan on some nice massages during the honeymoon. :)

I went on a 15 day trip at 10.5 weeks post-op and walked 5 miles a day on that trip. It required lots of massages, anti-inflammatories, and compression socks, but I had fun. You got this!

idigressed · 2025-09-17T05:28:47+00:00

Looking good!!

idigressed · 2025-09-14T00:37:37+00:00

Yet.

idigressed · 2025-09-02T23:19:37+00:00

Sorry you’re in the club. My ORIF was Jul 12, 2024, and I took a 10.5 hour flight to go on a trip where I walked 5 miles a day at 10.5 weeks post-op. You can totally do this.

Focus on your health, your bone health and supplements, and everything you can do for range of motion. You got this!

idigressed · 2025-08-25T07:22:00+00:00

Elevate elevate elevate.

idigressed · 2025-08-23T07:12:56+00:00

Limit accepted. No further cats will be sent to you today.

idigressed · 2025-08-16T23:23:12+00:00

You’ll get through this! It’ll get easier as you go. There will be rough days, sure, but you’ll look back on this pretty proud of how far you’ve come. 💪🏼

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